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Author Topic: Help me Solve this Muskie Puzzle...  (Read 3864 times)

GenesCamp

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Help me Solve this Muskie Puzzle...
« on: May 19, 2014, 09:03 AM »
Hi Everyone,

I've never caught a muskie and have my sites set on them this summer.  I know they are considered the "fish of a 1,000 or 10,000 casts".  I'm willing to put the time in.  Here's the puzzle part:

I've been heading out to Burke Lake here in Northern VA.  This is a small lake that is stocked yearly with muskie.  I went out a couple of weeks ago and started talking to a guy who was launching his boat asking if he knew where the fish were.  He told me some spots to try for bass and walleye but said he was going for muskie.  When I asked him what he was using he said, "Can't tell you that."  Now I respect that, a fisherman and his secrets and all.  As I fished I watched him trolling around the lake but no idea what he was using.  I didn't encroach or try and spy on him but I was very curious.  Last weekend I went out again and talked to the kids working at the boat rental place.  When I asked them about Muskie they mentioned the same guy I saw trolling the week earlier.  They say he catches them all the time and won't share his secrets but he did give them a hint:  Slim Jims.  That's all he said. 

What does he mean with Slim Jims?  Google search shows this is an antique Shakespeare Lure.  Or a Halibut jig.  I'm guessing he doesn't mean a real Slim Jim.  Maybe he was just screwing with them, or maybe it's just what he snacks on while he fishes.  Anybody know what he might be using that has to do with Slim Jim trolling for muskie? 

Open to any muskie fishing tips even if you can't solve this guy's secret.  For now I'll keep casting my Mepps lures and spoons and hope for the best. 

Rugburn

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Re: Help me Solve this Muskie Puzzle...
« Reply #1 on: May 19, 2014, 09:33 AM »
  Try trolling a muskie bug in the prop wash.

Rugburn

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Re: Help me Solve this Muskie Puzzle...
« Reply #2 on: May 19, 2014, 11:20 AM »
  Research Len Hartman.

Fishermantim

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Re: Help me Solve this Muskie Puzzle...
« Reply #3 on: May 19, 2014, 11:38 AM »
OH, I thought this was a post about smelly gym clothes... ;D
"God is playing to an audience that's afraid to laugh" (George Burns from "Oh, GOD")

"I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy!" - The Existential Blues

GenesCamp

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Re: Help me Solve this Muskie Puzzle...
« Reply #4 on: May 19, 2014, 01:58 PM »
  Research Len Hartman.

I researched him.  Are you suggesting I just buy a muskie from someone else and stuff it with sand?   :laugh:

Fascinating read though.  Thanks!

Rugburn

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Re: Help me Solve this Muskie Puzzle...
« Reply #5 on: May 19, 2014, 03:36 PM »
  The moral of the story is to not worry about the other guy and what he is doing. Develop your own solid strategies and go after the fish. Much more rewarding. Don't get caught up in the competition game like Len did. Ruins many good sportsman.

fishgalore

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Re: Help me Solve this Muskie Puzzle...
« Reply #6 on: May 19, 2014, 03:43 PM »
Here's as good a place to start as any!:- http://www.in-fisherman.com/pike-muskie/muskie/

GenesCamp

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Re: Help me Solve this Muskie Puzzle...
« Reply #7 on: Jun 02, 2014, 08:47 PM »
Thanks for the information everyone!  I'm still on this muskie quest.  But as I read all this information and other sources, I've come to find out my fishing rods, reels, and lines are not up to the task of catching muskie.  I have rods and reels fit for catching bass, pike, walleye, etc.  But nothing with lb test greater than 15.  I'm sure it's possible to land a muskie with these rigs, but I don't want to spend 10,000 casts only to lose a fish to equipment that's not up to snuff.  So I've been looking into muskie rigs.  I'm wondering if any of you muskie fisherman have any advice for me regarding equipment.  I'm intrigued by these package deals -

http://www.eaglesportscenter.com/products/esports/muskypax.htm

The price tags seemed high at first, but when I started pricing the rods, reels, and especially the tackle individually this actually seems like a decent deal.  Any thoughts?  Could I do better, and maybe even cheaper, buying everything individually?  Appreciate the advice!  

Fat Boy

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Re: Help me Solve this Muskie Puzzle...
« Reply #8 on: Jul 02, 2014, 04:03 PM »
Gene, I have several blog posts that may help (linked in my signature), many of which are devoted to new musky anglers and how to type stuff.  There is a lot of info on the web, and let me tell you first that muskies aren't that picky like you'd think, it's more of when they will bite than what lure they are hitting.  When choosing a lure, use one that gets you in the strike zone and let the muskies do the action.

Next, get tackle up to the task, like XH rods.  If you're trolling, length isn't much of an issue, but if you are casting, get a nice long musky rod to help you with figure 8's, and the length and heavy action helps with leverage while casting those huge lures (will save wear and tear on shoulders and elbows).  If you're using topwater, maybe not quite as long.  Muskies will feed up at night too, so topwater is effective then.

Don't be afraid to go large with your lures.  A 10", 8 oz. lure isn't really all that big when fishing for muskies.  They make lures up to 1 or even 2 pounds!   But, that's probably a good place to start.  I talk about lure selection in my blog posts, but basically, get a good selection of lures that cover the depths that you'll fish.  You will find confidence when you start getting action.

But, don't expect action every trip out.  You will get skunked now and then, maybe not see a fish, but don't give up.  Keep casting even when you're tired, or keep trolling.  Always do figure 8's after each cast and when you reel up to check your lure after trolling, even if they are fouled (muskies aren't as picky as we are).  Sooner or later, you'll find something that works,  so keep good records and pay attention to past successes (even follows).

Another tip, moon phases, rises and sets play a roll in fish activity, keep that in mind.

Tiger muskies hit the same stuff as pures, but sometimes downsizing works better on them.  In a lake, if you're casting, look for deep weed beds and hit the edges.

Where to find muskies in a lake?  During warmer months, troll the thermocline and pick a lure that will get down there.

Oh, and when you start catching them, the thrill will justify your spending on the tackle (as long as wifey don't see the bills).

One final piece of advice.  If you are CP&R fishing for them, get the right net and release tools...they make a difference.  Keep the fish in the water, in the net, while you unhook them.  When taking a picture, carefully lift them out and with one hand in the gill plate and one supporting it's weight just past mid body, keep the fish horizontal when taking the picture.  Juveniles, maybe not as important, but too much weight on those gill connections is tough on the fish.  Also, get a pair of hook cutters (Knipex are good for this) and cut the hooks if they are deep or may cause the fish harm.  Hooks are relatively cheap.  Know how many I've had to cut the past three years?  One hook.  You'll know when it's time to cut those hooks.  Why cut hooks?  The longer muskies are out of the water, the less chance of survival, more than most fish, and removing hooks deep in toothy throats takes time.  Also, if the hooks are deep and the fish goes ballistic in the net, those deep hooks cause major damage.

Anyway, good luck on your quest for 'skies!

royjulius

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Re: Help me Solve this Muskie Puzzle...
« Reply #9 on: Jul 06, 2014, 11:30 AM »
Great post!  :tipup: :tipup: :tipup:

boondox

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Re: Help me Solve this Muskie Puzzle...
« Reply #10 on: Jul 08, 2014, 09:29 PM »
mite be these
http://www.kineticfishing.com/default.aspx?pageId=270

these are very similar to the above lure.

 http://www.muskymania.com/products/

any thing squirrelly tailed at the musky mania link is similar to what is shown there at kinetic lures...


by the way i got a good chart to find but it show aggression stages of these critters for ice fishing it is just finding the right pace for them in the summer i find on pike is the same as musky some times..


also could try live bait trolling suckers seen them do that with pete maina on infishermen see if half.com has book on musky from infishermen most of the time book got more info then their site does.

GenesCamp

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Re: Help me Solve this Muskie Puzzle...
« Reply #11 on: Jul 17, 2014, 02:46 PM »
Gene, I have several blog posts that may help (linked in my signature), many of which are devoted to new musky anglers and how to type stuff.  There is a lot of info on the web, and let me tell you first that muskies aren't that picky like you'd think, it's more of when they will bite than what lure they are hitting.  When choosing a lure, use one that gets you in the strike zone and let the muskies do the action.

Next, get tackle up to the task, like XH rods.  If you're trolling, length isn't much of an issue, but if you are casting, get a nice long musky rod to help you with figure 8's, and the length and heavy action helps with leverage while casting those huge lures (will save wear and tear on shoulders and elbows).  If you're using topwater, maybe not quite as long.  Muskies will feed up at night too, so topwater is effective then.

Don't be afraid to go large with your lures.  A 10", 8 oz. lure isn't really all that big when fishing for muskies.  They make lures up to 1 or even 2 pounds!   But, that's probably a good place to start.  I talk about lure selection in my blog posts, but basically, get a good selection of lures that cover the depths that you'll fish.  You will find confidence when you start getting action.

But, don't expect action every trip out.  You will get skunked now and then, maybe not see a fish, but don't give up.  Keep casting even when you're tired, or keep trolling.  Always do figure 8's after each cast and when you reel up to check your lure after trolling, even if they are fouled (muskies aren't as picky as we are).  Sooner or later, you'll find something that works,  so keep good records and pay attention to past successes (even follows).

Another tip, moon phases, rises and sets play a roll in fish activity, keep that in mind.

Tiger muskies hit the same stuff as pures, but sometimes downsizing works better on them.  In a lake, if you're casting, look for deep weed beds and hit the edges.

Where to find muskies in a lake?  During warmer months, troll the thermocline and pick a lure that will get down there.

Oh, and when you start catching them, the thrill will justify your spending on the tackle (as long as wifey don't see the bills).

One final piece of advice.  If you are CP&R fishing for them, get the right net and release tools...they make a difference.  Keep the fish in the water, in the net, while you unhook them.  When taking a picture, carefully lift them out and with one hand in the gill plate and one supporting it's weight just past mid body, keep the fish horizontal when taking the picture.  Juveniles, maybe not as important, but too much weight on those gill connections is tough on the fish.  Also, get a pair of hook cutters (Knipex are good for this) and cut the hooks if they are deep or may cause the fish harm.  Hooks are relatively cheap.  Know how many I've had to cut the past three years?  One hook.  You'll know when it's time to cut those hooks.  Why cut hooks?  The longer muskies are out of the water, the less chance of survival, more than most fish, and removing hooks deep in toothy throats takes time.  Also, if the hooks are deep and the fish goes ballistic in the net, those deep hooks cause major damage.

Anyway, good luck on your quest for 'skies!

Thanks!  Been awhile since I've been on here, but this is a great post.  I ended up getting a Tackle Industries 8'6" XH with a Revo NaCL 50.  Great rod and reel, haven't got out much, but when I do I love casting it!  I'm waiting for the fall to really try and target my first muskie.  The lake here in VA isn't great and it gets a ton of pressure, so I know it might take awhile but I've time. 

GenesCamp

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Re: Help me Solve this Muskie Puzzle...
« Reply #12 on: Jul 17, 2014, 02:48 PM »
mite be these
http://www.kineticfishing.com/default.aspx?pageId=270

these are very similar to the above lure.

 http://www.muskymania.com/products/

any thing squirrelly tailed at the musky mania link is similar to what is shown there at kinetic lures...


by the way i got a good chart to find but it show aggression stages of these critters for ice fishing it is just finding the right pace for them in the summer i find on pike is the same as musky some times..


also could try live bait trolling suckers seen them do that with pete maina on infishermen see if half.com has book on musky from infishermen most of the time book got more info then their site does.

Might be onto something here.  I did buy a Jointed Believer that has a tail like this. 

boondox

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Re: Help me Solve this Muskie Puzzle...
« Reply #13 on: Jul 19, 2014, 12:50 AM »
like i was saying about the aggression chart some times pike are less aggressive then other times. so small amount of movement are better then large amounts and other time they like the bait right in front of their noses like bobber fishing with live bait don't know the laws or stipulations in your state but blue gills, small ones on heavily blue gill populated lakes works well with bobbers and big hooks like a 5/0 worm hook around here. but ya squirrelly burts  are another good lure i hear they swim like blue gills and perch another good bait for musky...     

pot-belly-pike

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Re: Help me Solve this Muskie Puzzle...
« Reply #14 on: Jun 30, 2015, 08:20 PM »
Big green bucktails
Smile it makes others wonder what your up to

           ~:+)

oh no fish-on i gotta get fishin

 



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